Yorkshire Ambulance Service admits failures in case of Hull man left to die at home

Ambulance bosses have admitted failures in the case of a father-of-three who died shortly after he was left at home and told to take anti-sickness drugs by paramedics.

The 51-year-old, who has not been named, suffered fatal complications from a hernia which cut off blood to his bowel.

His widow claims an ambulance crew "dismissed" the severity of his condition after she told them he had suffered with alcohol problems.

The woman, from Hull, said: "I still can’t get over how I lost my husband and my three daughters lost their dad – simply because an ambulance crew didn’t do their job as they should.

"The way he was treated by the ambulance crew that day was disgusting. I believe they dismissed him as an alcoholic. They robbed him of his life, of his chance to walk his daughters down the aisle and meet his first grandchildren."

The couple initially called for an ambulance as the man struggled with breathing difficulties and dizziness. Monitoring later showed he has an elevated heart rate of 130 beats a minute.The woman said her husband was examined in an ambulance but was then told to sign a waiver to say he was happy to stay at home.

"I was insisting he be taken to hospital but I wish I’d been even more forceful now, or got him there myself. They’ve left me with that feeling of regret," she said.

He died a day later, in April 2019.Yorkshire Ambulance Service has admitted breaching its duty of care in failing to take the man to hospital, saying he would probably have survived had he undergone surgery.The family's solicitor Kirsty Yates said: "The crew apparently incorrectly linked his symptoms to his alcohol dependence and there was a clear missed opportunity to take him to hospital for further assessment, or to encourage him to attend at hospital himself."It would also have been expected in a situation like this for contact to be made with his GP to discuss the position and to obtain their advice on a possible hospital admission.

"Unfortunately, he was left at home with his wife with a life-threatening complication and with blood supply to a vital organ blocked."It must have been horrendous for his loved ones, who had done all the right things in terms of seeking medical help."A spokeswoman for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said lessons have been learned.She said: "First and foremost our thoughts remain with the man’s family. The trust is sincerely sorry for the ambulance response and care provided to him in April 2019, which fell below the high standards we pride ourselves on."Lessons have been learned from this case, and include the national introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme, which has helped ambulance services to provide a more responsive service targeted to patients’ needs."

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